Diamond Dealers Club Election Disputed in Court

February 26, 2009byRob Bates

The fractious intramural politics at the New York Diamond Dealers Club have now spilled over to the courts.

The club’s current vice president, David Abraham (pictured left), on Wednesday asked New York State Court for a temporary restraining order and injunction against today’s scheduled elections, including the main contest where four-term president Jacob Banda (pictured below) is facing off against former vice president Zvi Farber.

The club’s lawyer said that Abraham’s request for a restraining order was denied and the election will be held as scheduled today. Abraham says he will press on with a related lawsuit.

At issue is a Club referendum held on Dec. 4, which resulted in the Club bylaws being amended to eliminate standing term limits and give club officials the right to seek up to five terms. It passed by three votes over the required two-thirds majority.

In his suit, Abraham charges the December vote was done in “blatant disregard” for its bylaws and should be declared “null and void.”

Among his allegations, in an often-angry affidavit: “Numerous members who didn’t pay their dues or received improper or unwarranted reductions” in their dues were allowed to vote, contradicting club rules. Abraham also claims that he saw a “voting card,” which “were reductions in unpaid costs that Banda peddled to his constituents … in order to gain their votes in the election.”

He also asserts that club members were not properly informed of the provisions in the vote, and that today’s vote was improperly scheduled.

Finally, he charges that Banda is “currently destroying voting records” related to the December vote, and is “continuing to tamper with the voting binders and club financial records.”